Design for emergence operates on a different set of criteria steeped in the politics and urgency of its time. I believe that in this scenario, having these so-called safe choices is not a bad thing. During this time of emergence it’s good that we have defined a graphic language of nationhood, expedient variations of heraldic traditions of crests, cartouches, and coats of arms. A lingua franca of legitimacy.
Lingua Franca: The 2014 D-Crit Conference
Designing a Country from Scratch: Nation Branding in South Sudan
presented by Anne Quito
Khaleeji Design: An Imported Aesthetic?
presented by Nawar Al-Kazemi
If you are given the task to lecture on design somewhere in the Middle East, do you think you’ll need to tailor your approach? Maybe think about your references, the language, the vastly different background? The answer most probably is “yes.” But the reality of design education in the Middle East, and more specifically the Gulf Region, prove otherwise.
Wrapping Sentences Around Things
presented by Nicholson Baker
So that’s what we’re trying to do, I think, we devotees who write about the designed and pen-outlined world. We’re just wrapper-uppers at Crate and Barrel. We’re packagers, temporary packagers. And our chosen packing medium—sentences, paragraphs—sometimes obscures as much as much as it helps us see.